Go Topless Day (variously known as National Go Topless Day, International Go Topless Day) is an annual event held in the United States and Canada to support the right of women to go
topless in public on
gender-equality grounds. In states where women have that right,
topfreedom
Topfreedom is a cultural movement, cultural and political movement seeking changes in laws to allow women to be toplessness, topless in public places where men are permitted to be barechested, as a form of gender equality. Specifically, the movem ...
laws are celebrated, and protests are held in states where topless women are prohibited.
Organizer
The annual event was started in 2007 by Go Topless, a
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
group formed by
Claude Vorilhon, leader of the
Raelian Movement, a
UFO religion
A UFO religion, also called a UFO cult or flying saucer cult, is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities and communication with them is a core belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be i ...
.
GoTopless has supported events and chapters in other countries.
History
Go Topless Day was founded in response to the arrest of Phoenix Feeley (Jill Coccaro), a topless activist who was arrested for being topless in public in New York in 2005. The city of New York settled with Feeley for $29,000 because toplessness is legal there.
Go Topless Day is scheduled for the Sunday nearest August 26,
Women's Equality Day
file:Women’s Equality Day (30004393205).jpg, Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee and Jackie Speier on the 96th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, when women won the right to vote.
Women's Equality Day is celebrated in th ...
, since on that day in 1920
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
was approved (in 1971 the U.S. Congress declared the day to be Women's Equality Day). The event encourages women to go topless in public, and men to cover their chests by wearing
brassiere
A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, ; ), is a type of form-fitting underwear that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cu ...
s or
bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...
s.
[
]
Events
In 2008, the first Go Topless Day was organized.[
In 2009, National Go Topless Day was celebrated on August 23 in the United States.
In 2011, Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 24. Protesters, both men and women, participated in rallies held in twelve ]U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
s, including California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
and North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. Women who participated in the celebration used either fake latex nipples or pasties
Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform ...
to cover their nipples and avoid arrest due to laws in some states that prohibit women from showing their areola
The human areola (''areola mammae'', or ) is the pigmented area on the breast around the nipple. More generally, an areola is a small circular area on the Human body, body with a different histology from the surrounding Tissue (biology), tissue ...
and nipples in public.Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, on August 28. Nearly twenty women went topless going from Queen Street East to Kew Beach on a pick-up truck sounding loudly the song "Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
" by The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
.[ According to Diane Brisbois, the spokesperson for Go Topless Canada, "This is not a beauty contest. It is about freedom. We have support; there are many men who come to our events too."]Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a , privately managed public park in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and between 40th Street (Manhattan), 40th and 42 ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on Go Topless Day, while men mostly observed, 30 cities held demonstrations in the US.
See also
References
External links
* , the event's official website
{{Raëlism
2007 establishments in Nevada
Annual events in Canada
Annual events in the United States
August observances
Breast
Civil disobedience
Gender equality
Nudity and protest
Raëlian practices
Recurring events established in 2007
Women's rights in Canada
Women's rights in the United States
Sunday observances